“I think there’s a limit to how much — I think the founding fathers wanted us to be able to arm ourselves, but I don’t think that they would have agreed that we should have the capacity to do the damage that we do have. And we just can’t afford it.”

Taylor told TheDC that he supports the president and sees him as a strong leader.

“I just think we need more like him — not that there’s anyone else like him — but I think it’s great that we have him in government. We are very fortunate to have Barack Obama as our leader.”

TheDC also asked Taylor if he agreed with President Obama’s decision to extend many of former President George W. Bush’s policies, including the War in Afghanistan, keeping the Guantanamo Bay prison open and re-authorizing the Patriot Act.

“I wouldn’t second-guess the president, or pretend for a second that I know better than he does,” Taylor said. “He has the information and I trust him to make those important decisions for us. That’s what it means to have faith in a leader.”

Taylor performed during a concert in Obama’s honor at the Lincoln Memorial before his first inauguration in 2009, and sang onstage during the Democratic National Convention in September 2012.

Obama presented Taylor with a National Medal of Arts, the highest award given to artists and arts patrons by the United States Government, in 2011.